Chapter 409: Grafting

On the lake surface, when Lu Cang closed his eyes, Li Luo immediately sensed an unusual fluctuation. That fluctuation emanated from within Lu Cang's body, and it made him smell the scent of danger.

Thus, without hesitation, he slashed out with his blade. The blade light cut across the lake surface, striking directly toward Lu Cang's face.

No one had stipulated that he had to foolishly wait here for the opponent to fully unleash their trump cards, so attacking now to interrupt him was a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

However, when this blade light was still half a zhang away from Lu Cang, it was blocked by a layer of Resonant Power light screen that had appeared out of thin air.

Clearly, Lu Cang was no fool; he had long since prepared some defenses.

Li Luo did not stop his assault, continuously slashing out with blade light that brought forth sharp, wind-tearing sounds, relentlessly bombarding the Resonant Power light screen. Under his rapid attacks, the light screen quickly became precarious, and after a dozen breaths, it shattered abruptly.

A sharp blade light slashed directly toward Lu Cang's face.

Boom!

Yet at this very instant, the eyes-closed Lu Cang suddenly threw a punch, colliding directly with the blade light. With that single punch, the blade light shattered.

Lu Cang's fist was completely unscathed.

Li Luo's gaze narrowed slightly, for he saw that Lu Cang's hair was gradually growing longer at this moment, hanging down behind him. Moreover, half of his hair had turned white, alternating between black and white, appearing somewhat eerie.

Of course, it was not just his hair that was changing, but the Resonant Power fluctuation within Lu Cang's body, which was climbing at an astonishing speed.

That level had already far surpassed the previous First Transformation of the Resonant Transformation Stage.

The strength of that Resonant Power was such that it even stirred the surrounding lake water, constantly forming surging waves around Lu Cang.

Li Luo's brows furrowed tightly at this moment. The opponent's sudden, massive surge in Resonant Power was truly incredible. After all, even the Resonant Bubble Art he practiced himself only allowed for storing a few extra portions of Resonant Power; how could it be like Lu Cang's, which had almost doubled?

Looking at the intensity of his Resonant Power now, Lu Cang should have advanced a level, reaching the Second Transformation of the Resonant Transformation Stage, and it was likely the peak of the second transformation at that.

Furthermore, this Second Transformation of the Resonant Transformation Stage of his could not be compared to those ordinary Second Transformations. With his ability, he was capable of converting this Resonant Power into a higher level of combat strength; after all, he was not the only one, Li Luo, who could defeat enemies above his own level.

According to Li Luo's estimation, in this state, Lu Cang's true combat strength had likely surpassed Ye Qiuding and was closing in on Zhu Xuan.

Such an improvement could only be described as astonishing.

While Li Luo was surprised and suspicious, Lu Cang's closed eyes slowly opened at this moment. His pupils had also changed, becoming one red and one black slit pupil. The slit pupils were cold, while simultaneously containing ferocity.

On the tiered spectator stands, the gazes cast toward this spot all shifted slightly; clearly, everyone had sensed that Lu Cang in this state was extremely dangerous.

"How can his Resonant Power increase by so much?" Lu Qinger bit her red lip lightly, her hands resting on the railing unable to stop from clenching tightly.

"Something is not right," Qin Zhulu said in a deep voice. He also possessed the High Eighth-Grade Myriad Beast Resonance, but he could not achieve Lu Cang's level, inexplicably causing his own strength to surge and double.

"It is not just an increase in Resonant Power; the Resonant Power fluctuation within that Lu Cang's body has also gained an extra quality out of thin air. His previous Heaven Sun Python Resonance was scorching and domineering, but now it has an additional aura of dark treachery..." Jiang Qing'e spoke calmly from the side.

Then, her gaze turned toward the spectator stands of the Blue Abyss Holy Academy, where she could see the youth named Lu Cang from afar.

"That extra Resonant Power and quality are actually very similar to those belonging to that Lu Cang who possesses the 'Dark Profound Python Resonance'."

Hearing Jiang Qing'e's words, Lu Qinger, Qin Zhulu, and the others all felt it was somewhat inconceivable: "Does Senior Sister Jiang mean that this Lu Cang is actually able to graft his own Resonant Power and Resonance nature onto Lu Cang from a distance?"

Jiang Qing'e nodded: "That Lu Cang has already entered a state of feigned sleep, having lost all the Resonant Power in his body. If my guess is correct, this is the trump card of the Blue Abyss Holy Academy. These two brothers were born as twins, so it is not strange that they possess such an inconceivable and mysterious ability."

"In a sense, the current Lu Cang can be considered to possess dual resonances, and the grade of his resonance is even higher than Li Luo's."

Bai Mengmeng's delicate brows were locked in a frown: "Then wouldn't the Captain be in danger?"

The power of dual resonances was the method Li Luo relied on to make his name; if the opponent was the same, it was clearly not good news for Li Luo.

"It is different."

Jiang Qing'e shook her head and said: "Li Luo possesses dual Resonance Palaces; only with the Resonance nature protected by the Resonance Palaces can one truly unleash its power. While Lu Cang can graft Lu Cang's Resonance nature and Resonant Power over in this special way, he ultimately lacks independent Resonance Palaces, so he cannot form true dual resonance power. At best, it is just two streams of power."

"Moreover, without the support of Resonance Palaces, that grafted power and Resonance nature are like duckweed without roots; they will not last long before gradually weakening and eventually dissipating."

"Of course, one cannot deny that the current Lu Cang's combat strength is extremely formidable. An ordinary Third Transformation of the Resonant Transformation Stage is likely no match for him. It is no wonder the Blue Abyss Holy Academy views him as the trump card to turn the tide of the battle. This ability of his, let alone in the ticket tournament, even if one looks at the various Holy Academies in the Eastern Divine Continent's First-Star Halls, he would be ranked among the best. He can be considered a heaven-gifted talent."

"If Li Luo wants to win this round, it will depend on how much skill he has kept hidden in his daily life."

Listening to Jiang Qing'e's analysis, Lu Qinger, Qin Zhulu, and the others all furrowed their brows, and worry began to appear in their eyes. Indeed, this decisive battle was even more difficult than imagined, and they did not know if Li Luo would be able to withstand it.

On the other spectator stands, the students from the various halls of the Astral Sage College also sensed Lu Cang's change, and their expressions immediately became tense.

The cheering sounds that had originally been brought about by Li Luo holding some advantages all vanished completely.

Only now did they understand that the previous advantage was merely a probe from both sides.

Under the convergence of countless gazes among the mountains, Lu Cang slowly twisted his neck, and crisp sounds emitted from his bones. His one red and one black slit pupil stared at Li Luo. Although there was a smile on his face, it only made people feel a chilling, bone-deep coldness.

"Li Luo, are you satisfied with this trump card of mine?" he asked with a smile.

Li Luo nodded slightly and said: "It far exceeds my expectations. I truly did not expect that you two brothers could play like this."

Lu Cang said: "The world is vast, and there is nothing strange that cannot happen. You can have dual resonances, so others naturally have other divine wonders."

"That makes sense," Li Luo agreed with a smile.

Lu Cang slowly raised the Green Python Staff in his hand, pointed it at Li Luo, and said with a smile: "Then next, it is my turn to say something. Li Luo, if you have no other trump cards, then I think you can exit this final round."

Upon hearing this, just as Li Luo was about to speak, his gaze suddenly narrowed.

Because the moment Lu Cang finished speaking, he launched an extremely fierce offensive. He stomped his foot, and the lake water beneath him instantly exploded. Water waves surged into the sky, turning into a torrential downpour.

Amidst the pouring rain, the red-black Resonant Power rapidly magnified in Li Luo's pupils. The air was torn apart, appearing like a red-black, two-headed giant python pouncing over, rolling with baleful energy, as if it wanted to swallow the sky and devour the earth.

The dual resonance power within Li Luo's body erupted without hesitation, and he slashed down with his twin blades.

Clang!

The two collided head-on.

The violent Resonant Power kicked up waves, and Li Luo's hands, which were tightly gripping the twin blades, shook violently. That abnormally violent Resonant Power, carrying immense force, surged over, instantly cracking the web between his thumb and forefinger. His figure flew backward, sliding more than ten meters across the water surface before he gradually stabilized.

With this clash, the situation was instantly reversed.

Among the mountains, an uproar arose.

Lu Cang stepped out of the water, holding his Green Python Staff, looking at the repelled Li Luo with a smile, and then tilted his head to ask.

"Li Luo, this should be your first time tasting the flavor of being suppressed by someone of the same level, right?"

"Does this taste good?"